1. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: What ARE You in for? Geography 494-01 S/07 Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue (Images mostly from NASA)

2. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars?  How have you imagined Mars?

3. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars?  How has science imagined Mars?  Schiaparelli’s canali (1877-1886)

4. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars?  How has science imagined Mars?  Lowell’s canals

5. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars?  How has science imagined Mars?  Viking’s dead, dry Mars (1976-1982)

6. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars?  How has science imagined Mars?  1990s/2000s: could Mars once have been warm and soggy?

7. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  The tallest volcano in the solar system  Olympus Mons: 24 km tall, 500 km wide, a 6 km cliff at its base

8. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  The longest and deepest canyon in the solar system  Valles Marineris: 4,000 km long, 2-7 km deep

9. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  The mother of all impact craters  Hellas Planitia: 6 km deep, 2,500 km in diameter

10. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Some spectacularly old impact-battered surfaces  Some of these may be older than 3.5 billion years old  Mariner 6 1969 (Sinus Sabaus & Deucalionis Regio)

11. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Unpleasant atmosphere  Density varies a little over one half of one percent of Earth’s

12. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Unpleasant atmosphere  Windy, dusty place

13. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  Unpleasant atmosphere  Really COLD place

14. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Planet of Extremes  All this in a planet so much smaller than Earth  ~15% of Earth’s volume!

15. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Tentative Course Outline  In this class, we’ll go over:  What does GEOgraphy have to do with Mars?  The history of Mars exploration  The basics of remote sensing  Spacecraft and their sensors  Mars as a planet in the solar system  The landscapes of Mars  The climates and weather of Mars  Mars as it affects human imagination

16. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Grading “Opportunities”  I grade on a modified curve, based on:  The usual suspects:  Midterm = 20%  Final = 20%  Writing projects:  Annotated bibliography = 15%  Novel report = 10%  Group web report = 20%  Labs = 10%  Participation = 5%

17. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB Mars: Course Resources  Course homepage:  http://www.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/mars/  Syllabus  Guidelines for assignments  My contact and office hour information  BeachBoard:  Mostly points to web page  Easy e-mail communication  Make sure MyCSULB knows your main e-mail!  BeachBoard also provides grade records  Textbooks:  Crosswell, Magnificent Mars  Boyce, The Smithsonian Book of Mars

18. C.M. Rodrigue, 2007 Geography, CSULB So, on to Mars!